Physical features

Physiography

The Turkmen Karakum is approximately 135,000 square miles (350,000 square km) in area, extending some 500 miles (800 km) from west to east and 300 miles (500 km) from north to south. It is bordered on the north by the Sarykamysh Basin, on the northeast and east by the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) valley, and on the southeast by the Garabil uplands and Badkhyz steppe region. In the south and southwest the desert runs along the foot of the Kopet-Dag Mountains, and in the west and northwest it borders the course of the ancient valley of the Uzboy River. It is divided into three parts: the elevated northern Trans-Unguz Karakum; the low-lying Central Karakum; and the southeastern Karakum, through which runs a chain of salt marshes. Along the border of the Trans-Unguz and Central Karakum runs the Unguz chain of saline, isolated, eolian (wind-formed) hollows.

The surface of the Trans-Unguz Karakum has been eroded by violent winds. The plain of the Central Karakum runs from the Amu Darya to the Caspian Sea along the same incline as the river. The height of wind-accumulated, half-overgrown sand ridges ranges from 250 to 300 feet (75 to 90 metres), depending on age and wind velocity. Somewhat less than 10 percent of the area consists of barchans (crescent-shaped dunes), some of them 30 feet (9 metres) or more in height. There are numerous interdune depressions (takyr), which are covered by clay deposits up to 30 feet (9 metres) thick and act as catchment basins for the region’s scanty precipitation; the water collected in these basins makes it possible to grow such fruits as melons and grapes. Saline areas called solonchaks are also formed by the evaporation of subsoil water.

Geology

Some 30 million years ago the entire Karakum region was covered by the sea. Orogenic (mountain-building) processes in the southern part of the Turan Plain resulted in a gradual diminishing of the sea and, ultimately, in its disappearance. Subsequently, the Amu Darya flowed across the Karakum, changing its bed from time to time and depositing large amounts of alluvial sediments (mostly sand and clay). The Karakum sands now contain some 40 different minerals brought down from the mountains to the southeast. After the Amu Darya changed its course and turned to the north to drain into the Aral Sea, the surface of the Karakum came to be shaped largely by eolian processes, which account for the present diversity of the desert’s landforms.

Climate

The climate of the Turkmen Karakum is continental, with long, hot, dry summers and unpredictable but relatively warm winters. The average temperature in July in the north and along the shore of the Caspian Sea ranges from 79 to 82 °F (26 to 28 °C), and in the central part of the Central Karakum from 86 to 93 °F (30 to 34 °C). In January, average temperatures are 25 °F (−4 °C) in the north and 39 °F (4 °C) in the south, but temperatures may fluctuate from as low as −4 °F (−20 °C) to 50 °F (10 °C) within a 24-hour period. The average annual rainfall varies from 2.75 inches (70 mm) in the north to 6 inches (150 mm) in the south. Precipitation occurs mainly in winter and early spring, more than half of it between December and April. There is little snow. The prevailing northeasterly and northwesterly winds are mild.

Plant and animal life

The vegetation is quite varied, consisting mainly of grass, small shrubs, bushes, and trees. The humid early spring permits the widespread growth of ephemeral plants—the main animal fodder—while in the barchan dune areas the typical vegetation consists of grasses, the wormwood shrub, and trees of the species Ammodendron conollyi. The most common bushes are species of Astragalus, Calligonum, and saltwort (Salsola richteri). In regions of deep underground water, white saxaul (Haloxylon persicum) is the most typical plant, but, in regions where water is nearer to the surface, the black saxaul (H. aphyllum) occurs. The vegetation of the Turkmen Karakum can be used as hay in winter by camels, sheep, and goats.

Animals are not numerous in the Karakum, but they are of many kinds. The insects include ants, termites, ticks, beetles, darkling beetles, dung beetles, and spiders. Various species of lizards, snakes, and turtles also occur. The most common birds are skylarks, saxaul sparrows (Passer ammoderdri), wagtails, desert sparrows, and Pander’s ground jays (Podoces panderi). Among the rodents are gophers and jerboas. Such mammals as the tolai hare, hedgehog, barchan cat, corsac fox, and goitered gazelle usually live on the plains.

People and economy

The population of the Karakum is sparse—averaging one person per 2.5 square miles (6.5 square km)—and consists mainly of Turkmen, among whom some tribal distinctions have been preserved. From antiquity the inhabitants of the Karakum practiced nomadic pastoralism and fished along the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Amu Darya, but in modern times nearly all have settled onto collective and private farms and have developed permanent towns with gas and electricity. Cattle-raising teams care for the livestock. The development of oil, gas, and other industries has brought new settlements, populated by diverse nationalities.

Traditionally, the inhabitants of the Karakum dug deep wells and used catchment areas to collect rainwater. Modern irrigation has made the desert suitable for raising livestock on a large scale, especially Karakul sheep. The Karakum Canal, running from the Amu Darya to the Caspian Lowland, has brought water to the southeastern Karakum, the southern border of the Central Karakum, and the foot of the Kopet-Dag Mountains. Fine-fibred cotton, fodder crops, and a variety of fruits and vegetables are grown in the oasis areas, and a large area of rangeland is supplied with watering points. A serious side effect of this irrigation, however, has been secondary salinization of the soil (i.e., the formation of a salty crust that renders the soil infertile). Improved drainage systems designed to divert the salts away from cultivated areas have been built to combat this problem.

Intensive economic development after World War II has brought an industrial revolution to the Karakum. Factories, oil and gas pipelines, railroads, and highways, as well as thermal and hydroelectric power stations, have changed the face of the region. A number of natural resources also have been exploited, including sulfur, mineral salts, and building materials.

Russian geographic exploration of the Karakum began in the early 18th century, and in the 20th century it expanded as irrigation, mineral-resource, and transportation needs grew. Soviet archaeological expeditions in the late 1940s and ’50s uncovered evidence of Stone and Bronze Age cultures in the Anau region and around Dzheytun, the latter believed to represent the earliest agricultural settlement in west-central Asia. Canals dating from the 3rd millennium bc have been discovered around Geoksyur. Excavations at the ancient Parthian capital of Nisa (near Ashgabat) have revealed buildings, documents, and a looted treasury from that period.

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